Growing e-commerce in UAE lowering costs of Pakistan mango imports

A few years ago, when mangos first started to become a big deal among expats in the United Arab Emirates, it was almost cheaper to fly to Pakistan and buy 30kgs worth of Sindhri mangoes and bring them back as your baggage allowance than to buy them in Dubai.

The logistics of importing mangoes into the country has changed considerably though and now with the rise of e-commerce and specialist fruit importers, the price per kg for Sindhri mangoes in Dubai is only marginally more than what it would cost to buy them in Pakistan itself.

OMyMango.com, an online UAE mango retailer, sells Sindhri mangoes for AED27 per 2 kg box, which works out to just a few dirhams more than the current price per kg of mangos in Karachi, which hover around Rs 160 to 200, according to Al Bilad.

Mangos are one of Pakistan’s biggest exports, with 32% of all mangos exported being sold in the UAE. Both Indian and Pakistani mangos dominate the UAE market with almost a 70 per cent share, while products from Kenya, Sudan and Australia serve the rest of the market.

“Pakistan is expected to fetch US $68 million if it achieves the annual export target,” said Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association (PFVA) former chairman, Waheed Ahmed.